Gay marriage supporters stage new protests

Opponents to a ban on gay marriage have demonstrated outside a Mormon temple
in Los Angeles to protest at the church's financial backing of the measure.

By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles

4:35PM GMT 07 Nov 2008

About 1,000 protesters brought traffic to a standstill outside the church as confusion intensified over what the ban will mean for the thousands of couples who have tied the knot since same-sex marriages became legal in June.

The constitutional amendment, dubbed Proposition Eight, sought to eliminate the 'right of same-sex couples to marry' by reversing a California Supreme Court ruling in May that made the state the second in the US to permit gay marriages.

A number of legal challenges have already been filed seeking to block the ban. They argue that the changes the measure requires are not so much an amendment to the state constitution as a revision, which would require approval by the state legislature before a referendum could be held.

Legal experts said they did not know if the lawsuits stood any chance of succeeding.

The move to prohibit gay marriage, which was opposed by President Elect Barack Obama, was backed by 52 per cent of voters. Around 70 per cent of black voters, who turned out in high numbers and overwhelmingly supported Mr Obama, approved the ban. A slight majority of Hispanic voters also voted for it.

The proposition ignited fierce passions among both opponents and supporters with the rival campaigns raising over 70 million dollars in the battle to win over voters.

Large donations came from outside California, including 3.6 million dollars raised in Utah where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged Mormons to back the measure.

The protests on Thursday outside the temple in Westwood followed demonstrations in West Hollywood on Wednesday night during which seven people were arrested. There were also protests in San Francisco where people gathered on the steps of the city hall.

The ban on gay marriage took effect the morning after the election. State officials, however, said it would not be applied retroactively and California Attorney General Jerry Brown told those already married that their unions would remain valid.

But experts remained unconvinced.

"I wish I could be comforted by Attorney General Brown's statement that it has no retroactivity," said Bill Araiza, a Loyola Law School professor who married his same-sex partner last month. "But it's in flux and I just don't know."